Fault Utopia

Chapter 646 Extra: Cloning (5)

"I'm a clone!"

AA's words exploded in Sun Jack's ears like a thunderclap. He looked at AA in front of him in disbelief, almost thinking he was hallucinating.

However, when AA spoke again, it shattered his illusion completely. "I'm fake! I'm a clone just like you! The real AA is still in Metropolis!"

"The real AA is... in Metropolis? In Metropolis controlled by the Holy Grail?" When Sun Jieke heard this, he instantly felt a chill run down his spine and his hair stand on end.

He rushed over and yanked AA, who was squatting on the ground, to her feet. His face was extremely grim as he demanded, "What on earth happened?! Answer me!"

But the next second, a certain possibility flashed through his mind: "Because you didn't want to die in the Metropolis! You secretly switched her back?!"

Upon hearing these words from Sun Jieke's mouth, an extremely heartbroken AA shoved him away, crying and almost hysterically saying, "Why would you think I'm that kind of person! Just because I'm a clone?"

"Then why is AA's original body still in Metropolis?!"

"Because she loves me!!"

After AA uttered those words, the room finally fell silent. The two of them stood there quietly, as if the air had stopped for a moment.

AA, choking back tears, lowered her head, her dyed bangs obscuring her eyes. "She loves me...she doesn't want a clone of AA to die in her place..."

Things took a turn for the worse than Sun Jieke had predicted. He took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair, scratching it vigorously.

Before he knew it, a cigarette was in his mouth. He began to pace around the room, thinking about how to make amends. Things absolutely could not go on like this; he had to get back on track.

After glancing at AA in front of him, Sun Jieke turned and walked out the door, preparing to contact the main body and tell him everything that had happened.

But just as he was about to make the contact, he suddenly stopped, realizing the danger of doing so.

"No! This is too dangerous! The original body is now under the Holy Grail's surveillance in every way. Any communication with it could be detected by the Holy Grail. If the Holy Grail finds out that the original body's memories haven't been erased, then everything will be over!"

He then thought about contacting other people, but who could he contact? The Tower faction was definitely out of the question; it was practically the Grail's camera.

Old Six? No, telling him that would be tantamount to suicide.

Four Loves? Sun Jie paused for a moment upon thinking of this, then skipped over the name and continued searching for the others.

Although he experienced many things in the metropolis, he didn't have many truly close friends. Unless the dead members of the Rat Alliance were resurrected to help him, his message would never get out.

After thinking for a long time and lingering outside, Sun Jieke sighed and went back inside. "AA, I've thought about it, and I've decided—"

Before the door was fully opened, Sun Jieke's words came to an abrupt end. The entire room was empty; there was no one there.

“AA?” Sun Jieke asked again. He went to the bathroom and opened the door, but there was no one inside.

Sun Jieke's brows furrowed more and more. He quickly pulled up the room's surveillance footage, only to find that the footage had just been deleted!

"This guy's fucking insane! Doesn't he know how dangerous this place is?!"

With a cold expression, Sun Jieke pursed his lips and began shopping online without saying a word. Soon, a hovering drone flew in from outside the window and began scanning inch by inch, searching for every clue.

All traces left by AA, including fingerprints and broken hair, were quickly summarized and organized by it and projected onto Sun Jieke's nervous system.

Soon, a moving phantom appeared on Sun Jack's yellow glasses. The blurred AA came to the window, opened it, and jumped out without hesitation.

Sun Jieke gritted his teeth, quickly went to the window, grabbed the window frame with his right hand, and suddenly pulled the window open. Instantly, black snow rushed in, and he jumped out without hesitation.

Sun Jieke wanted to find AA again, but the continuous heavy snow erased all traces of the outside world. He searched for a long time in the snow but found nothing.

AA walked through the heavy snow with red eyes, occasionally choking up, but the cheerful girl quickly composed herself.

With a "bang," a gunshot rang out, accompanied by thick smoke billowing from the strange gun in AA's hand, and the malicious gazes behind him immediately dispersed.

Surviving in the metropolis wasn't as fragile as Sun Jieke had imagined, neither psychologically nor physically. Following the system's navigation, she headed southeast of Varanasi, where there was nothing but Varanasi's landfill.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, several magnificent mountains appeared before AA. Black snow covered the entire garbage mountain, turning it into a snow-covered mountain.

She endured the stinging and itching from her allergic reaction, pushed aside the snow that was almost waist-deep, and walked towards the snow-covered mountain.

Several crooked metal rods and a bent plastic plate were quickly transformed into a shovel in AA's hands.

She then used tools she had salvaged from trash to start digging in the snow. She didn't intend to dig up the entire mountain, but rather to dig a snow hole down like a little mole.

After working for an hour, AA's face lit up with a smile when she saw the trash under the snow.

Soon, all sorts of trash were quickly transformed into practical little tools in her hands, and what was originally a small area on the ski slope was rapidly expanded into a cozy snow cave.

When the small lights came on, just like in the sewers of the metropolis, this place quickly became a simple dwelling thanks to AA's efforts.

As she lay on a small bed made of tattered cloth, looking at her masterpiece, a smile returned to her face.

"This place is really nice. You can find anything here. If only the garbage dump in Metropolis could be buried this close by."

Suddenly she sat up again and started drawing on the discarded plastic nearby. Soon, a new puppy, just like the one in the sewer, appeared there.

Next to the puppy is a new AA, followed by a sun and grass, then Tapa, Four Loves, Old Six, the priest, and finally Sun Jack.

But when she was halfway through drawing, her expression darkened again. She pursed her lips tightly, as if trying to hold back something, but in the end she couldn't hold back. Her pursed lips trembled, and she finally burst into tears again.

No matter how difficult the environment is, she always finds a way to survive. Even if life is very hard, she is an optimist by nature and can endure any hardship.

The reason she was willing to follow Sun Jieke was not because he could give her a job, pay her a salary, or provide her with benefits. After all, he was in great danger and had enemies at any time. If she really cared about personal gain, she would be crazy to follow such a troublesome person.

One of the most important reasons why she was willing to stay by Sun Jieke's side was that AA could feel his care for her.

She had never felt this kind of emotion since she came out of the birthing factory. When she saw that the boss was willing to risk his life against the cyber psychopath to save her, she felt that the boss was her family.

Although she knew he seemed to treat everyone the same way, AA didn't care. She felt that her boss was her family, and she wanted to do everything she could to help him.

However, all of these are truly AA, whether it's feelings or relationships, and she is just a clone. The boss created her just to send her to her death.

Feeling incredibly wronged, she reached out with her paintbrush and forcefully erased Sun Jieke, and then also erased the priest, Lao Liu, Si Ai, and Ta Pai.

When only AA remained on the plastic, she touched the AA on the plastic and stared blankly. That was herself, the self she loved most.

I love myself, whether I am a clone or the real me, which is why the original cannot bear to let myself die.

As AA touched the painting, a surge of love and longing welled up within her, yet at that moment she began to doubt her own feelings.

All these feelings come from the original AA, but the feelings between herself and the boss are fake. So, are these feelings real?

AA was a little confused at this moment. She hesitated about whether to accept this feeling. She really wanted to accept it, but she was hesitant.

It's as if accepting this intense love means psychologically accepting becoming AA's backup.

"Why did I love myself in the first place?" Somewhat confused, AA pondered this question for the first time. Fortunately, with the help of intelligent AI, her system quickly provided an answer.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), commonly known as "self-love psychosis," is a condition in which narcissists may exaggerate their self-esteem to mask their inner feelings of inferiority or shame in high-pressure environments, forming a "false self" as a protective shell, which gradually develops into a narcissistic defense mechanism.

"If a child lacks a stable attachment relationship in childhood, it may affect the development of a healthy self-esteem. When external needs are not met, the individual may turn to internal self-evaluation to maintain a sense of self-worth."

Hearing this, AA hugged the piece of plastic and curled up helplessly on the bed, saying with immense grievance, "So I'm different from Si'ai? This isn't a fetish, I just have a mental illness?"

(End of this chapter)